Diverse Fates
by Rapier Of Flames
Summary: A compilation of White Rose AU's. Chapter 2: Five-year old Weiss doesn't want to trick or treat. Rated T for safety.
1. Sisters

Ruby never anticipated that she would ever have a little sister. Well, considering her parents never talked about having another child, or getting one, Ruby thought the subject was history.

Yet here she was, hands stuffed into the pockets of her worn red hoodie. Black skinny jeans clinging warmly to her skin, their ends tucked into red converse. At the age of fifteen, she should be at school right now. But it was Christmas break. A time where kids spend time with their family for the holidays. The time for kisses under the mistletoe and new happy memories.

A harsh winter breeze blew by, causing her to glance at her silent companion. The new addition to their family. And also, her new little sister. Well, not biologically anyways. They'd recently adopted her last October, and it seemed that Weiss had still not taken to her new family as soon as they'd originally thought.

She would barely talk. And when she did, she did it so politely, like she were always talking to strangers and she freeze up whenever anyone ever tried to make contact with her. And so that's where Ruby came in. In the past few days, their mother had forced the two some quality time together, since Yang had always been busy with either piles of school work, or time with her long-time girlfriend, Blake.

The feat deemed sort of futile though, since the only thing that the two ever did during these times were not talk, and just wander around town until it was time to go back. It was pointless, and was a real waste of time. So Ruby made up her mind. If she was going to spend time with her anti-social and closed-off sister, she may as well make the best of it. And she the first move.

"S-so, Weiss, was it?" This opted the attention of her white-haired companion, making her tilt her head towards her older sibling. Piercing crystalline blue eyes never failed to hide their appearance, and the unusual pale tone of Weiss' face only accentuated them even more. But the most interesting feature her little sister had, was that jagged scar that trailed down her left eye.

It always mesmerized Ruby every time she saw it and she promised herself one day to be close enough to her younger sibling and hear the story behind it no matter how mundane it may have been. A nod of confirmation had been Weiss' reply. Not the talkative type, Ruby notes.

"Well, since Mom forced us to hang out together, maybe we should start to make the best of it, you know?" Ruby asked. Another nod. Clearing her throat, Ruby continued. "Is there anywhere you have in mind that you might wanna go to?" A shrug this time. She was making progress. At least Weiss was actually responding, unlike the other times Ruby tried to talk to her, pretty much filled with or lapsing into awkward silences.

"Do you like to read, Weiss?" Ruby inquired, not wanting the rolling ball they'd started to stop so soon. Weiss gave a thoughtful look on that subject, pausing their conversation for a moment before answering with her hand formed as if in the middle of a bro-fist, only the thumb was sticking out to the side. She wiggled the appendage up and down a bit to emphasize her answer.

"Kinda?" Ruby laughed. "You know you can't keep answering me like that forever. One day, you'll have to talk. I swear to it!" Fist-pumping, this elicited an arched eyebrow from Weiss, as if saying, "Wanna try me?"

"Oh, it's on now, Ice Princess. I will get that pretty little mouth of yours to talk, even if it's the last thing I do!" Weiss pouted at the new nickname, going even as far as to playfully punch Ruby on the shoulder. Ruby rubbed her shoulder in mock pain at that.

"That's new," she stated, leading them to their unannounced destination. The bookstore.

For the rest of the trip, was comfortable silence. Ruby would ask a question here or there, like what was Weiss' favorite color, in which the girl responded by pointing to her alabaster long-sleeved jacket.

Reaching the bookstore was a fairly more pleasant trip. The humble little building compressed between shopping outlets. Christmas decorations hung from the sills and windows. Various colors of tinsel and differently shaped baubles hung around the pine tree displayed outside in preparation for the holidays.

Weiss stood at the entrance, ogling at the decor. Ruby contemplated on giving Weiss a small scare, but was afraid of snuffing the small flame the two managed to call a bond. Instead, Ruby settled for pulling on Weiss' hand despite the alarms going off in her head about her little sister's touch-phobia.

"Let's go inside?" Ruby asked, still having not let go. Weiss tensed a bit, but then relaxed along with Ruby's nerves. Giving her a nod, they continued into the store.

* * *

The smell of coffee beans and paper greeted the pair's noses when they entered. One section of the shop dedicated to rows upon rows of literature, while the other, smaller part was a café. There were more than the usual amount of people, Ruby noticed. In favor of the celebrations, she guessed.

"Just, go wherever you want," Ruby told her. A questioning stare. "I-in the store I mean. Mom would kill me if anything happened to you. This store isn't too big, so I'll come get you when it's time to go," again, another nod. "Alright. I'll see you," and with those parting words, Ruby left Weiss to her own devices.

The white-haired girl stood there awkwardly for a little while, not knowing what to do without Ruby at her side. Locking her eyes on a nearby wall clock, Weiss sighed with the newfound knowledge she was going to be here a while. Letting her feet wander her through the maze of bookcases, her eyes skimmed through the titles, disinterest clearly showing through. Until she reached a certain aisle.

'What the...' Weiss reached up on the wooden case, a moderately thin, paperback book meeting her fingertips. She then flipped the book to what she presumed to be the anterior of the reading material only to be met with what looked to be the back. Turning it over, she saw the title in black, bold letters with the image of ridiculous looking characters on the cover.

'That's... peculiar. A book that you read backwards?'

Weiss flipped the book back on what she guessed was the back, opening it up on what she thought would be the first page. Instead, she was met with this:

**STOP!**

**YOU'RE READING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!**

Whoops! Guess what? You're starting at the wrong end of the comic!

It's true! In keeping with the original Japanese format, this book is meant to be read from right to left, starting in the upper-right corner.

What followed was a small diagram of how the book was supposed to be read along with a small explanation about why you had to read it the Japanese way. Looking over the diagram, Weiss flipped the book once more, then stared at the cover.

'Soul Eater? What do they do in this story, anyway? Eat souls? What a self-explanatory title,' Weiss thought, keeping the book between her hands while she skimmed through other titles.

'Bleach? Do they do laundry in that one? One Piece, I'm supposing that one's a slice of life about swimming. Attack On Titan... that looks rather... does that man not have skin?'

Let's just say Weiss spent a large amount of time in that section of the bookstore that day.

* * *

"Weiss!" Ruby called through the aisles, the books she wanted in her arms. One book was for a class she had at Signal, another was a manga book she picked up right after she left Weiss, Soul Eater Vol. 13. There was also another book. Something Yang wanted her to pick up along the way. God knows why she didn't want to pick it up herself. Blake worked in the bookstore after all.

"Weiss! Where are you? Wei-!" Ruby's little stroll was interrupted when she almost tripped over someone. Quickly spouting an apology, she glanced at the poor soul, only to find it had been the person she'd been looking for this whole time.

"Weiss?"

The Ice Princess's despondent state had Ruby thinking she was sleeping. Crouching down to Weiss' level, the girl being criss-cross applesauce on the carpeted floor, Ruby's assumption was confirmed. Extending a hand to shake Weiss awake, Ruby's attention was drawn to the titles sprawled neatly around Weiss. Titles ranging from Puella Magi Madoka Magica, to the recently booming Attack On Titan circled her sister.

Ruby smiled. Well, that's one thing they have in common.

"Weiss. Weiss, it's time to go now," Ruby shook the slumbering girl awake, Weiss' drowsy eyes opened slowly, then probed around, trying to find where she was.

"We're at the bookstore. Come on, it's time to go," Ruby gathered the manga books that Weiss collected during their time there. Then, while she put them up on their rightful shelves, she thought.

"Hey, Weiss. Anything you wanted to buy?" Ruby quipped, shelving the books while doing so.

Weiss placed a finger to her chin, apparently giving some thought to it. Moving closer to Ruby, she plucked out two books from the stack in Ruby's arms. After finishing putting the books back, Ruby clapped her hands together. Taking Weiss' manga out of her hands, she took a look at the covers.

"Soul Eater? Oh! I have the series already. You can borrow mine, if you want," Ruby glanced at Weiss, who nodded and put the book back on the shelf. Placing her gaze on the second book, Ruby's face scrunched up.

"Arrr... doubolyubee... wai? Arrdoubolyubeewai? What kind of title is that?" Ruby pointed. There was a picture of four girls on the cover. And they were color-coded? What?

Weiss shook her head in amusement, taking the book back.

* * *

"Are you hungry yet, Weiss?" Ruby questioned when they exited the store. She was practically bubbling with happiness what with being able to make so much progress with her sister in less than a day. Weiss answered with a shrug.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Ruby stated, swinging the plastic bag holding her books around carelessly. Weiss shrugged again.

"I know. I'm reeeaaal observant, aren't I?" Ruby giggled. At least she got as far as being able to talk freely with Weiss. "So, what do you say?"

Weiss responded this time by pointing to her watch, and then the subway station.

"Weeee can break curfew every once in a while can't we?" Weiss huffed at that. "Aww, come on Weiss. Live a little. Plus, it's not like you'll get in trouble when we get home anyway."

Receiving a resigned sigh, Ruby took that as a go ahead. Taking hold of Weiss' wrist, she pulled the both of them into a fast food place.

It wasn't that Ruby was particularly hungry, but even though she knew her recklessness would come back to get her in a bit, it didn't beat seeing Weiss smile for the first time later that evening.

* * *

A/N: Something random I came up with. Considering you made it this far, I'm assuming you enjoyed it? Yes? No? Maybe? I purposefully put the A/N here so you didn't have to skip it up there. Anyway, after hibernating for a fairly long time, I have come back to life. I decided to make this fic, since I had a lot of White Rose AU's piling up on my Doc Manager, and since I was too lacking in the story-telling department to keep stories up for a good amount of time (To sum it up: I was a little chicken.), I decided to cram them all in here. Suggestions are welcome. Just... just keep it PG 13, okay? Hope you enjoyed this, and look forward to more.


	2. Halloween

**Let me explain:** In case you didn't know, I said in the summary, this would be a **COLLECTION** of AU's (Alternate Universes). This means, every chapter won't be necessarily connected to one another unless I say so.

* * *

Ding. Dong.

"Trick or treat!" squealed little children, receiving much wanted sweets in return. Yes, once again, it was the night of Halloween. The one night of the year where monsters were no longer terrifying.

Ruby swung her candy-filled basket around with glee. Trotting off from house to house with the other children. Meanwhile, Yang and Blake stood off to the side, waiting for the red ball of energy to return so they could go through the next street for treats.

Yang gave a sigh. "Must be nice to be a kid."

"You say that as if you're an old woman," Blake chuckles, earning a pout from the seventeen-year old. Looking down at the cause of the unnatural warmth clinging to her right leg, Blake nudged her little sister a bit, gaining her interest.

"Weiss, aren't you going to join the others?" the elder inquires. A fervent shaking of snow-white hair was her reply.

"C'mon, Snowflake. All the kids are having fun. You should have some, too," Yang coaxed. This brought on another shake of the little girl's head. The blonde sighed again. "At least Ruby's having fun. Speak of the devil."

The aforementioned girl panted while she heaved her loot behind her. A huge grin stuck to her face, and it was so wide, Weiss was sure it hurt. Observing Ruby from behind her sister's leg, Weiss could feel the cheerfulness rolling off the red-cloaked girl in waves.

"Yang! Yang! Look how much candy I got!" she happily bragged, eyes shining.

"Whoa, great job, Rubes! High five!" Yang crouched down a bit, her five-year old sibling significantly shorter than her.

Blake noticed the small fascination Weiss gave to the amount of sweets Ruby managed to collect. Not letting the opportunity slide, she gave it one last shot.

"What do you say, Weiss? You sure you don't want to trick or treat?" Blake asked. Still, Weiss shook her head for a third time. Stubborn as ever, it seemed.

"What? You don't want to?" the siblings' conversation piqued Ruby's attention, and now she approached Weiss with curiosity. The latter tensed at the knowledge Ruby was suddenly talking to her. "Why not?"

"I..." Weiss began.

"Well what do you know. The Ice Princess can talk," Yang joked, gaining a hiss of her name from Blake.

"...I can't." Weiss finished.

"Why not?" Ruby repeated, taking steps closer to the timid girl. Blake felt her leg being tickled as Weiss burrowed her face further into the limb. As if doing the action would diminish her existence. "Are you scared?" Yang asked with a light laugh.

"Uh-uh," Weiss denied, stepping out of her hiding place for a moment before shrinking back. "I just... don't want to get hurt again."

Ah, so that was it. Ever since Weiss entered kindergarten that year, Blake often picked her up from school in a fit of tears. Many of her schoolmates made fun of her hair color, wounding the child's heart deeper than they were actually aware of. Blake glanced at Yang, who stared intently at the children.

"Then don't worry!" Ruby suddenly jumped to Weiss's side, conjuring a frightened squeal out of her. "I'll protect you! Just like the knight in shining armor, right Yang?"

"Right, Ruby." Yang smiled. Leave it to her baby sister's naïvety to solve the case. Weiss blushed, hiding her face into Blake's leg again.

"Come on! I'm sure Jaune and Pyrrha will like you!" Ruby assured, tugging on Weiss's pale hand. The child stumbled out of her hiding place, and she stuttered in distress, not knowing what to do.

"Go on," Blake urged. "It'll be fun. Trust me." Weiss gave an uncertain expression. "If it isn't, then we won't go again. Though just try it tonight. You might like it."

"O...kay. If Blake says so." Weiss reluctantly agreed, still not sure.

"Let's go!" Ruby exclaimed, pulling once again on Weiss's hand.

Neither of them knew it, but this gesture initiated a friendship that would one day grow deeper than the ocean itself.

* * *

A/N: Belated Halloween quickie. I don't blame you if you think this is weak (I think so toooo...). This basically was written off the fly, and wasn't looked over very much. I don't even know why I posted this. I guess it's because of Halloween, and Bumblebee has started to take over the archive... meh. Anyway, I've started to work on a suggestion, don't know when it'll be up. No promises.


End file.
